Kokanee Salmon on the Move out West

Today, Tyler and I headed out for a little exploring and to really just check out conditions in the Gunnison drainage.  On our way down Cottonwood Pass we saw Aspens just below treeline that were in full fall color.  Look for the trees to really hit their full change in the next week or so. Anyways, fishing wise, we stopped at the Taylor C&R for a couple hours to see if we could find any tanks. Since we didn't see many fish over the 5 lb mark, we decided to just get into a few and head to the Upper Gunnison.  Fished between Gunnison and the town of Almont and some great pods of Kokanee Salmon.  Since, I get to chase trout everyday, I welcomed this and we spent the next few hours chasing these Landlocked Sockeye Salmon that are on their way upstream from Blue Mesa Reservoir to spawn and eventually die.  Most of these fish were in the 18-22 inch class but Tyler caught one about 24 and super thick.  We caught fish that were fresh chrome, super red, and a lot somewhere in between the two.  We also caught a few Rainbows, but I figured I would just take pics of the Salmon.  Between the two of us, we probably landed 80 plus fish.  Catching these fish on a four weight is tons of fun, as long fast runs, kart wheels, and flips are the norm during a fight.  These fish are scattered about in different lakes around the state.  However, the three areas with the most notable runs are the Gunny above Blue Mesa, the Blue River above Green Mtn. Res, and the Dream Stream out in South Park.  So far few if any kokes are in the Dream Stream, and I have not heard about Green Mtn., but they are definitly in the Gunny.  Below are a few pics of just a fraction of the fish we landed today.